Starlight Discussion
by ninjafairygirl
Summary: set after KH3. Riku goes to pick up Namine and they have a discussion about a certain replica.


An early entry for Namiku day on November 11th!(I have other things planned, just you wait!) just a small snippet of post KH3 action!

A/N: thanks to Lotus-Sketching for the head cannon about Repliku's fate!

Space was as wide and cold as Riku had ever known it to be. He was out and about, picking up his many friends while Sora and Kairi had some personal time on the island. Riku smiled and shook his head. They had finally admitted what he had seen all along. Granted, he tried to fight against it once, but now that his eyes were clearer, he wouldn't have it any other way.

They had somehow made it out of the keyblade war alive, and were all going to share some downtime together on the sands of the destiny islands. He was headed towards twilight town to pick up the gang. The ship was not accustomed to holding more than 5 or 6 people at a time. This was the Highwind, one of Mickey's old gummi ships. Sora had made a few on his previous journeys, but they were all either too battered to fly or made more for looks than function.

As best as Riku could tell, everyone would either have to sit on other people's laps in the cockpit, or else sit on the floor behind the chairs.

Needless to say, not only were things squished, but everyone was relieved when he parked the ship and they were able to spill onto the soft shoreline. Riku was relieved to be out of the awkward feeling that he had around Roxas. Things hadn't gone so well between the two of them and Xion, and it seemed like the ex-nobody hadn't quite forgiven him yet. He wanted to be friends, or at least clear the air, but he wasn't sure how to go about it. He'd have to talk to Xion about it later.

"We're home!" Riku called.

It looked like Sora and Kairi were showing Terra and Ventus how to surf. Aqua was using her magic to create small practice waves for them, and help keep them nearby. Upon seeing the arrival of the gummi ship, the five raced their way to shore. Aqua created a wave that carried Terra and Ven, while Sora took Kairi in his arms and did the same. They made it to the beach about the same time, although Sora tripped at the last moment and they ended up face first in the sand.

"Way to go, Sora. I'd give that landing a 5 out of 10." Riku laughed, offering a hand to both of his friends.

"Gee, thanks." Sora smiled sarcastically.

"Is everyone here?" Kairi asked expectantly.

"No, we're just waiting on Ienzo now." Riku looked up to the sky, as if to see Radiant Garden itself.

"I hope he hurries!" Kairi cheered.

"Me too. I gotta thank her!" Sora added.

"At this point, I believe we all owe Namine a thank you." Terra interjected. "She's the one who summoned Lingering Will to the keyblade graveyard."

"Really?" Sora gasped. "So that's what she meant!"

"She really is a wonder." Riku smiled softly.

'Let's all go to pick her up!" Xion cried.

"Yeah! We can show her she is loved!" Roxas gave Xion a high five.

"I think we'd better stay here. There really isn't much room on that ship." Hayner shrugged.

"And we'll stay here as well. No point in all of us going for a quick pick up." Aqua pulled Ventus and Terra close to her.

"Okay, so it'll be the twilight gang and the destiny islands trio!" Sora smiled.

"Not so fast." Isa added in. "I won't be coming. Namine's only memories of me are not pleasant. You'd better stay here too, Lea. Don't want you stirring up any memories for her."

"But I never did anything mean to her! I was her friend!" Lea protested.

Isa gave Lea a stare he seemed to understand immediately. Sure, Lea would love to go with them to pick up Namine, but he understood that Isa thought of something he did not. Namine might be overwhelmed, just having a new body and all. It he taken Xion a few hours to get used to how everything felt, and she had had a relatively normal time while around the first time. Namine hadn't even been outdoors much in the time she had been alive.

"Xion, Roxas, perhaps you'd best stay here, too." Lea straightened his posture.

"But Lea, we're her friends! We want to see her!" Xion and Roxas chorused.

"And you will, when she gets back. Now come on, Isa brought a frisbee."

Lea shooed them to Isa who held up the frisbee he brought. While Roxas and Xion had their backs turned, Lea shot Riku a thumbs up and a wink. Riku just smiled and shook his head.

"You ready to go then?" Sora looked expectantly at his best friends.

"You know Sora" Kairi smirked, picking up the hint Isa had dropped. "What kind of hosts would we be if we left all of our friends here alone? They don't know where all of the coolest parts of the island are."

"I'm sure they can handle it until we get back." Sora noted.

"Actually Sora, since everyone else is staying on the island, do you mind staying here? I don't know how long Ienzo will be and I don't want to keep anyone waiting."

"An excellent point you make, Riku." Kairi smiled, pushing Sora towards the frisbee game.

"Are you sure? Because-"

Kairi lovingly nudged Sora again, and it seemed like he got the hint. He smiled at Riku and nodded. Kairi came close to whisper in Riku's ear.

"Good luck! She misses you too."

"Wait, Riku! Take this!" Mickey ran over and handed Riku a big sun hat with a pink polka dotted bow in the back. "Namine has light skin, right? This oughta help her. But its one of minnie's favorites, so bring it back."

"Thanks, mickey." Riku smiled, and took the hat.

Riku took off again for one more pick up. To say that he was a little nervous about this one would be an understatement. Ienzo had called and let him know that Namine was almost ready to wake up. He was about to have called Sora to do it, but Ansem had instructed otherwise, knowing the girl's history with the keyblade master.

What was Riku going to say to her when she woke up? The scenario was one he had played over and over in his mind several times after Xehanort was defeated and he was delivering the replica body to Radiant Garden.

He and Namine had shared so much together; he was excited to see her again. After she had melded back into Kairi, he thought he would never get to see her again. Occasionally though, he swore he could see her when he looked at Kairi, but his inner thoughts reasoned it was a trick of the light.

And then his replica had shown up. Riku had no idea what had transpired between the two of them in Castle oblivion; Namine didn't like to talk about her time there very much. Riku never pushed it. She didn't need him to bring up those sore memories.

As Riku landed his ship, he could see the tiny bodies of Dilan and Aeleus standing outside and guarding the castle. But there was someone else there, too.

Namine.

Riku's heart leapt into his throat. He wanted to jump out and sweep her into his arms, but that would probably be weird. As he exited the ship, he could see her radiant smile- one just for him. Smiling back to her, he held his hand out to help her into the gummi ship. She softly squeezed his hand back. This felt natural. It felt familiar and safe.

"Welcome back, Nam." Riku pulled her just a little closer. He was aware of the guards watching them, but for just a moment, he didn't care.

"Good to be back." She gave a soft chuckle.

"Are you ready to go?" Riku asked, letting go of her hand and putting the other behind her back.

"Yes. Where are we going?" Namine climbed into the gummi ship, Riku close behind.

"I think we all deserve a break, so we're having a party on destiny islands. I brought you this." Riku held up a big sun hat and placed it playfully on her head.

"Thank you, Riku. You're always thinking about me." Namine sat down in her seat and began to use her seatbelt.

"Don't mention it. Mickey let me borrow it." Riku's cheeks were slightly pink. He quickly turned his head to look at the sky. "Hold on, it might be a little bumpy as we break through the atmosphere."

Namine had never felt such speed and force hit her all at once. It was nearly exhilarating, to feel such new things. Now that she was human, she was determined to enjoy her life to the fullest. She was glad Riku had been the one to come pick her up. She felt safe with him.

"And someone special I know won't let you down."

Sora's words rang through her head, as she recalled her time in that final world. She could feel her cheeks warm as she stole a glance over in his direction. He had grown up so much in the short time they had known one another. Riku broke through her train of thoughts as he stated, "we've gotten through into the lanes between. Try taking off your seatbelt."

Namine nodded and worked with her seatbelt until she was freed. Without a second to breathe, she could feel herself begin to float up, losing all ability to stay in one place. She quickly grabbed onto her seat, holding herself down. When her skirt began to float up, she had to use a hand to cover herself, causing the rest of her body to move up.

Riku have a quick laugh and unbuckled his own seatbelt, pushing himself towards Namine. The ship wasn't very big, so Namine was able to place a hand on the window and steady herself when she let go of the chair.

"What was that all about?" Namine asked, still smiling.

"We have a little ways to go, so I thought you might like a new experience." Riku smiled, placing a hand on the window to steady himself as well.

"Thank you, Riku." Namine placed a hand on his shoulder to help steady herself further.

"If you'd like, we can put the gravity back on." Riku suggested.

"No, this is fun." Namine smiled.

"I'm glad." Riku nodded. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I can't believe this is the first time I've really seen a full range of stars. Between Castle Oblivion and Twilight town, I didn't get to see the night sky too much. There were a few in the world that never was, and of course I saw plenty with Kairi, but this is…..breathtaking." Namine gave a sigh.

Riku placed a hand on Namine's shoulder to steady himself as well, and looked up with his friend.

"What are you thinking about, Riku?" Namine asked.

The question had caught Riku off guard.

"I guess I've just been thinking about our time together, especially back at the castle. I remember being so confused when I met my replica and then meeting you for the first time."

"Hmm." Namine hummed. "he was good, just like you."

Riku couldn't help but notice the sadness in her gaze. He wondered how they had interacted. As far as he could tell, his replica was helplessly devoted to this wonder of a girl. How she felt about him though, was a mystery. Did he brave asking?

"I got a chance to meet him. Put up a heck of a fight...and then he was the one to finish off his past self in the keyblade graveyard." Riku spoke softly and carefully.

"I see." Namine paused. "What happened to him?"

"He gave up the spare replica to give it to you." Riku admitted. "After that, he disappeared."

As he was saying it, he could feel remorse and a small twinge of jealousy as Namine had clearly been affected by the news. As a single tear came out of her eye, it began to float between them, a tiny drop of water suspended in the air.

"He really loved you, Nam. He wanted what was best for you." Riku looked her square in the eyes.

"He was dear to me, that much is sure." Namine started slowly. "He still loved me, even after I gave him false memories, and even though I nearly killed him by crushing his heart."

Riku winced. He was sure Namine had a good reason for it, but to think she was capable of something like that was beyond what he imagined.

"He loved you." Riku slowly admitted.

"Yes." Namine looked up, avoiding Riku's gaze.

There was an awkward pause.

"You know, if you loved him too, I want to apologize for…"Riku had spoken without thinking. "For having his face?"

Namine laughed. "What?"

"That did not come out right at all." Riku blushed.

He took his hand off the window to rub the back of his neck. A second later, he hit his head against the glass, forgetting that the gravity had been turned off. He quickly tried to regain composure, but Namine's laugh had grown stronger.

"What I'm trying to say is that I hope seeing me isn't going to being up any painful memories of him for you." Riku clarified.

"Not at all. And I'm sorry for laughing, that was just too funny." Namine wiped a tear from her eye. Her tone then lowered to be more serious. "I loved your replica, too."

Riku's face grew somber. He guessed he had messed up again. The feelings he had for the girl were strong and had only grown when his replica entrusted her care to him. He had inherited the feelings of his replica, and now he had to go make it awkward by bringing up pain from the past.

"I'm sorry he's gone." Riku looked at Namine.

"It is hard to take in. But I don't want you to misunderstand me. I loved your replica because he saw me as a person. I wasn't a fake, or Kairi's shadow." Namine clarified. "But I also loved him because he was you. I had gotten to know you through Sora's memories. That's why I hoped you'd choose to face your darkness."

They both blushed furiously, instantly grateful that the only visible light came from the stars above. Unspoken thoughts began to fill the small cockpit.

Did she mean she loved me? He thought.

Did he see everything? She thought.

After a few minutes, Riku began to admit, "A small part of the reason I agreed to protect you was because his heart joined to mine and I saw all of his memories; the ones you planted in him and the ones he made in Castle Oblivion."

Namine blushed furiously. She hoped that the memories of their imaginary time on the island would have been long forgotten. Seeing them come to life in the replica was almost magical to her at the start. She had wondered what it would be like to be loved so completely by someone and had let it get to her head. She supposed that was partially why he had been so determined to protect her.

"What was the other part?" Namine asked hesitantly.

"Because I care about you, Nam. I saw how hard you worked to fix your mistakes. You were willing to erase yourself from the first person who had ever shown you genuine kindness. I may have inherited some feelings from my replica, but that's because he inherited them from me." Riku explained.

"Weren't those feelings the ones you had for Kairi?" Namine almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"In a way, yes. But my heart inside the replica was resonating with yours, not Kai's. I know it seemed I believed the lie that nobodies didn't have hearts. But my heart wasn't fooled. Or rather, my heart inside the replica wasn't." Riku placed a hand on his heart, hitting his head again, which made Namine chuckle.

"Thank you, Riku." Namine pulled herself closer for a minute to give him a peck on the cheek.

"I-I should get the gravity back on, we're almost there." Riku stammered.

His face had flushed a bright crimson and he found himself focusing on the ship's controls and getting himself buckled in. He checked to make sure Namine was secured and then turned on the gravity.

Even though he was buckled down, he still felt as if he were floating as high as the stars. Namine just smiled, surprising even herself with her boldness. She hoped that Riku's replica could feel the gratitude she held for him- for both of them. He may have been gone, but she promised herself he would never be forgotten.


End file.
